Originally published at National Catholic Register
The Dominicans indicated that Father Gutiérrez’s remains would lie in state at the Santo Domingo convent in Lima’s historic center.
Father Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino, the Peruvian Dominican priest considered the” father” of liberation theology, died on October 22 at the age of 96.
The Dominican Province of St. John the Baptist of Peru announced the death of Gutiérrez, noting he was the author of the influential 1971 book “A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation.”
“We ask for your prayers to accompany our dear brother so that he may enjoy eternal life,” stated the announcement signed by Fr. Rómulo Vásquez Gavidia O.P., the provincial prior.
The Dominicans indicated that Father Gutiérrez’s remains would lie in state at the Santo Domingo convent in Lima’s historic center.
The Vatican and Liberation Theology
The Theology of Liberation is a school of thought that explored dimensions of liberation from the standpoint of Catholic Social Teaching. In some of its radical expressions, in particular in Latin America, liberation theology embraced many elements of Marxist theory and advocated for social change through various forms of revolution. At times, it also cast Christ as a form of revolutionary figure.
Its more extreme dimensions emphasized a
